


Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back

by carrieevew



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Halloween Costumes, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrieevew/pseuds/carrieevew
Summary: trying to escape his sister's Halloween/birthday college party, Bellamy runs into Clarke Griffin in an amazing costume and a band of children. probably the last thing he expected to happen to him that evening.





	

**Author's Note:**

> it started off as an idea based on the fact that my baby brother was born on the 31st of October and then it got away from me, as those things usually do.
> 
> title form "This is Halloween" from _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ , what else. i do recommend the [Marilyn Manson version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU6iP0WLsU8) form _Nightmare Revisited_.
> 
> happy Halloween and happy birthday, dude who will never read it.
> 
>  
> 
> enjoy!

For as long as Bellamy could remember, his sister being born on the 31st of October had been a blessing in disguise. By the time she’d been old enough to go trick-or-tricking, he’d already grown into a quite responsible almost-adult and their mother felt safe letting them outside after dark. He also figured out that the easiest idea for a birthday  gift on a budget would be to help Octavia come up with and make an awesome costume, and then take her to one of the better neighbourhoods, where she could get the candy they wouldn’t normally be able to afford otherwise.

It was a brilliant plan that worked well, even as Octavia went into her teenage years, only then she’d take some of her friends with her and Bellamy served more as a chauffeur then company.

Octavia was only 16 when their mother died of cancer and Bellamy moved back home to take care of her. He felt like an incredible asshole for ever thinking that way but he couldn’t help himself being grateful to the universe that Aurora lasted long enough for him to managed to graduate from university, get a job as a history teacher at a local high school, and that their childhood home had been in the family for years, therefore had already been paid for.

Octavia’s 17th birthday came only a few months after that and when she asked to throw a Halloween party instead of going out, Bellamy agreed almost immediately, glad that she wasn’t withdrawing herself anymore. She’d promised that it would just be a group of her friends, watching scary movies in their costumes and stuffing their faces with popcorn and candy. Since her brother clearly wasn’t invited, he just left the cake he bought for Octavia and sequestered himself in his old bedroom-turned-office to grade some papers, keeping an ear out in case Monty and Jasper tried to blow something up. _Again_.

 

***

 

Octavia’s tradition of throwing a birthday-slash-Halloween party continued all through her high school years and well into her time spent in college, growing bigger every year, especially after most of her friends neared 21 and Octavia decided to make those parties the social event of the year. She was now more inviting bur Bellamy wasn’t particularly interested in hanging out with half-conscious college students, keeping them from knocking over pieces of furniture.

It was Octavia’s senior year when Bellamy had to figure what to do with himself during this year’s party. Usually, he’d go to hang out with his friend Miller, drink some beer and play video games, but this year, Miller went with his boyfriend to visit Bryan’s mother in Boston, which meant Bellamy was left to fend for himself. He considered going to a bar for about five minutes before realising that if he wasn’t able to handle his own house full of yelling kids, a bar clearly wasn’t an option either.

Bellamy ignored his sister calling him a grumpy old man who wouldn’t know how to have fun if his life depended on it and grabbed his car jacket, deciding to go to the library, to work on a year-long plan for the history club; that should kill him a few hours.

As he reached the library’s parking lot, there was only one other car, a beat up Honda Civic that he suspected belonged to the librarian. As he got out of his car, he also noticed a small group children, aged probably somewhere between eight and ten, standing there, all dressed up in truly impressive costumes, jumping excitedly around their adult, a blonde woman with her back turned to him. She was wearing an intricate princess costume that looked like it was made out of an actual ball gown and her hair was in a crazy tall up-do, with an actual tiara on her head, which he noticed once the woman turned around to talk to one of the kids. It took him a moment to recognise that the woman was in fact one of his co-workers – Clarke Griffin, the new biology teacher.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Bellamy walked towards her and the kids. Clarke had only been working in his school since March, when the old biology teacher, Dante Wallace, retired suddenly, claiming he was too old for this shit.

His and Clarke’s acquaintance started on a really bad foot. Her first day, he stormed into the faculty room, already pissed off because there was an accident on his route, creating  massive congestion, and asked which fucking asshole parked their fucking car in his fucking parking space. A beautiful blonde in an expensive-looking pant suit rose from her chair, admitting to the crime with a small smile, saying that she thought the spaces weren’t assigned. The smile, however, faded almost as soon as it appeared once Bellamy barked back that no, the spaces weren’t _assigned_ but she still could’ve asked.

Looking back, he knew the animosity started because of his behaviour but as soon and she recovered, Clarke gave as good as she got. Their argument had to be broken by the principal, who came in to introduce the new addition to their family. Bellamy saw her raising an eyebrow at him as Kane talked about making her feel welcome and from that day forward, it hardly got any better. They bickered about literally anything, including whether the rain outside was still a mizzle or a drizzle already. It wasn’t open hostility between them but it definitely wasn’t a friendly banter, which Bellamy figured was a shame. If it was in any way school-related they tend to agree on many things and tended to present a united front. They could’ve been good allies.

He thought that the summer holidays might cool things down between them, but on the first day back, she just nodded at him without a word and kept on walking. Yeah, no magically appearing friendship there.

“Where did you kidnap all those kids from, Princess?” Bellamy asked as got closer to the group, hoping she’ll get the joke. “Should I take notice to their descriptions, in case I’m questioned by the mob of angry parents?”

Her head jerked towards him, with confusion painted on her face. It dissipated quickly, though, replaced by a smirk.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Clarke told him “considering I’m taking them to a big bad witch, to trade them for eternal youth and beauty.” She grinned at the children and they giggled back at her, some of them letting out exaggerated gasps as well. “At least give me some head start.”

Bellamy snorted inelegantly, slightly surprised by the friendly banter between them, but promised that her secret was safe with him.

The kids standing around them seemed to be getting a little antsy. Clarke glanced at her watch and decided it was time to get going. She was taking the kids around the neighbourhood, they were supposed to be back in a couple of hours and the kids couldn’t wait to get their sugar high. She wished him a good night with and as Bellamy watched her retreating back and heard her laughing at something one of the kids said, he couldn’t help but smile.

 

***

 

The next morning, Bellamy was sitting in the faculty room, reading an article. He was trying to tune out Ms. Tsing talking about some hooligans who teepeed her house last night, without jumping in to suggest that those might’ve been her sophomore chem students, taking revenge for the last test she gave them, when a cup of  coffee appeared in his line of sight. He looked up to see Clarke, standing in front of him, frozen in anticipation. He thanked her as he took the coffee from her and took a sip. Bellamy smiled, tasting that it was pretty much how he liked it – black with one sugar. Granted, it wasn’t exactly a difficult order but it was still nice to know that she knew that.

Clarke relaxed when he drank more and she took a seat next to him, drinking from her own mug with _biologist do it in their genes_ written on it.

“So, did you make it home before your carriage turned back into a pumpkin, Princess?” Bellamy asked and immediately winced, because man, that was bad and very unlike them. But Clarke only let out an over-the-top sigh.

“You’re never gonna let me live it down, are you?” she asked Bellamy with a scowl and he shook his head, grinning.

“Ha! Not a chance. I may, however, be bribed into no telling anyone about it with an explanation,” Bellamy proposed. Clarke considered him, her eyes squinted and lips pursed slightly.

“That, I think, is more of a lunch break conversation,” she finally told him, pointing towards the clock. The classes were indeed about to start.

 

***

 

Honestly, Bellamy didn’t expect to be this excited about spending the lunch break with Clarke but as he reached the door to her classroom, that was how he felt. There was something about making her laugh that he enjoyed immensely. From what he heard about her, she was a good teacher, but rather strict to her students and quite serious on a daily basis; every one of her smiles felt rightfully earned.

Clarke waved at him to come in, chewing on her meal.

“I’m trusting you not to murder me with a spork, now that you’ve lured me here.” Bellamy dragged a chair across from her and sat down.

“You’re gonna make me choke!” Clarke chastised him but there was a warmth in her voice. “And before you accuse me of any more federal offences, I found those kids in my art class I teach in that library.”

“You’re teaching an art class?” Bellamy blurted, incredulous. She saw her doodle on random pieces of paper during faculty meetings but that was a surprise.

“Yup,” she confirmed. “And we were working on those costumes for the last couple of weeks, specifically to wear them yesterday.”

“Okay, Miss Full-of-Secrets, how does a biology teacher end up with an art class? Or was it the other way around?”

“A little bit of both, I guess?” Clarke answered. “I actually started out as pre-med in college but I figured out pretty quickly I didn’t really want to be a doctor. I switched to a biology major, took the education courses and a few art classes, and boom, here I am. And the library was much more interested in that teaching certification than an art degree before they let me anywhere near children.”

“You chose high school students over some nice lab where you could be alone with your bacteria?” Bellamy asked and Clarke laughed.

“Dude, you do know that we’re both sitting on that branch you’re sawing off right now?”

“Okay, fair enough. Why teaching, though?”

“My dad taught some college engineering classes and even though I never understood much of the subject, the way he spoke about teaching, he made it look really appealing, so I went for it.” Clarke shrugged. “How about you? Did little Bellamy dream of telling young masses about the industrial revolution?” she teased him.

“Actually, little Bellamy was too busy taking care of his little sister while there mother was at work,” he confessed quickly. “I didn’t really think about what I wanted to do when the time came to declare my major in college. I guess I just went for it, too.

“And okay, I do enjoy lecturing the young masses.”

 

***

 

It seemed almost unbelievable that his relationship with Clarke could change as simply as that—like a switch had been flipped, after a single conversation; but it did feel like that.

Bellamy was willing to admit that it helped a lot when he stopped acting like an asshole, actively trying to antagonise her. He started laughing with her instead and Clarke loosened up, too. She would sit next to him in faculty meetings, half-mumbling snarky comments. In the mornings, she’d already wait for him, coffee ready, even though he knew she lived much further away from the school than he did.

They would still bicker but it was more like a sport now that an actual argument and it usually ended with her exasperated sigh that covered up a smile.

They were growing closer and closer as November flew right past them and by the time December arrived, he resigned himself to admitting that he had developed a massive crush on her.

An then, two weeks before Christmas, his sister came in for a Sunday dinner. It was an almost-tradition they kept up for the last three years, since she left for college. She’d come in claiming that she needed to do the laundry and grab some food, he’d complain that she should be able to feed herself and they would eat their dinner without admitting how much they missed each other.

This time, she announced that they’d be throwing a Christmas party on the 17th of December.

“Why are we doing this?” Bellamy asked with a small whine. “We just had some people over for Thanksgiving, you’re having a party on New Year’s Eve, are you trying to check all the major holidays?”

“It’s my senior year, Bell. I’m trying to re-establish myself in this town so that I can already have a reputation when I come back.”

“I’m pretty sure people remember you even without the parties,” he said.

“Aww, that’s sweet, big brother, but flattery will not get you out of helping me put it together. And you could definitely use some more human interaction.” Octavia patted his arm and Bellamy groaned at her. “Besides, you’ll have a chance to invite your girlfriend so that I could finally meet her.” She added, getting up from the couch and heading towards the door.

“Clarke is not—” he started to deny but then his sister smiled at him like a cat that got the canary and there was no deterring her anymore.

“Oh, just think about it—we could hang mistletoe all around the place and you can give her your nerdy and heartfelt present, and she’d go all bashful and blushing, and you’ll live happily ever after.” Bellamy dropped his head at the back of the couch as Octavia painted the most awkward scene from all every ridiculous romantic comedy ever made for him. She had her boots already on and as she grabbed her jacket, she turned towards him, adding: “and besides, there’s someone I’d like you to meet and I think you’ll be less willing to kill him with eyewitnesses around.”

She was already outside the door when he connected the dots in that final sentence, so he just smacked a palm to his forehead, hitting his glasses and driving the frame into his face. Bellamy grumbled to himself in resignation.

 

***

 

Several days later, Clarke greeted him with a cup of coffee in one hand and a thick green envelope with some Christmas decorations painted on it. She waved it in front of his face without saying a word and took it from her, inspecting the invitation inside.

He whistled, impressed with his sister’s dedication. “Wow, she’s really pulling out all the stops on this one,” he said and Clarke tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows halfway up her forehead, expecting an explanation.

“Consider yourself a VIP to my sister’s Christmas party, Princess. I haven’t seen those invitations before but she told me she’d only sent out an few of those. She must really want to meet you.”

“And why is that?” Clarke asked, teasing him a little. “Is it maybe because I’m the only one of your co-workers you don’t hate… _anymore_?” She was smiling widely at him and Bellamy felt a slight clench in his stomach. Oh, he had it _bad_. 

“Tell me more about that VIP treatment, Bellamy” Clarke demanded with a smile. She put down the mug and moved next to him, wrapping an arm around on of his. “It’s your childhood home, right? Will there be a grand tour? A trip down the memory lane, towards the gallery of baby pictures? I would be willing to accept that as my gift.” She told him and Bellamy felt the urge to kiss her, right then and there.

Yup, he was so done for.

 

***

 

In an usual Octavia fashion, the Christmas party was an over-the-top event that attracted an impressive amount of people. Bellamy only recognised about a half of them, but Octavia kept introducing her friends to him, so far giving no indication was the new boyfriend.

After some 20 people had introduced themselves to him, Bellamy escaped to the kitchen under the pretences of checking if they were still well stocked on food and alcohol.

He emerged from the kitchen with a random plate of appetizers when he saw Clarke standing in the living room, admiring the handmade decorations adorning the walls. Bellamy asked his sister where did she take them from, since neither of them had any artistic skills whatsoever but she only smiled, like she was keeping an incredible secret and told him that all shall be revealed in due time.

Clarke was wearing a dark red dress, made of some thick and heavy material that hugged her in all the right places, with a loose knee-length skirt and a deep v-neckline. Her hair was tied up in a messy chignon, a name that he remember for the time when Octavia was about fourteen and tried to teach herself how to create different hairstyles.

Clarke was holding a glass of wine in her hand and standing right there, she looked like she just stepped away from a Christmas photoshoot for one of those home décor magazines. Absolutely beautiful.

She smiled brightly as she noticed him and Bellamy swallowed heavily, felling quite nervous all of a sudden. He straightened the tie he was wearing and made his way to her.

“I’m still waiting for that VIP tour, you know,” Clarke said the lieu of a greeting.

“I think we’re gonna have to wait with that, Octavia still has something planned for all of us,” Bellamy revealed which prompted and interested _huh_ from Clarke. They stood together, talking about their plans for the Christmas break for about an hour, before Octavia invited her guests to grab their jackets and join her outside.

The group poured into the garden and looked around aimlessly, not knowing what to look for. Finally, Octavia asked them to turn around towards the front of the house and lit up the illuminations. This was not a part of the preparations that Bellamy was involved in which meant that he had a chance to fully appreciate how fantastic the house looked like with lights around the windows, the door and a few trees.

He was quite stunned which was probably why it took him by surprise, when he felt Clarke slipping her hand into his. He tenses for a second but then squeezed back, before she took her hand back. She looked up at him thorough her eyelashes and pressed herself a little closer to him.

Everyone else was just as impressed with the illuminations but they started to go back to the house, where there was warmth and wine, but Bellamy and Clarke stood there just a little bit longer, still holding hands.

At some point, when they were the only two left outside, Clarke turned to face Bellamy. Her cheeks were beautifully red from the cold and he couldn’t stop himself from brushing a thumb down her face. She nuzzled into his hand and squeezed the one she was still holding.

Bellamy took a deep breath and asked “I know you said you’re going to see your mother for Christmas but maybe we could see each other during the break, after you come back?” He sounded pretty hopeful and Clarke smiled, her nose scrunching up a little. She then raised onto her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss to his mouth.

“I’d love that,” she told him. “Now come one, I can’t feel my butt anymore.” Clarke tugged him back towards the house. Bellamy let go of her hand then and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her into his side.

 

***

 

A couple of hours later, when some of the guests have already late and Bellamy was sitting with Clarke on a refurbished chaise lounge that his sister borrowed from an unknown place specifically for the party. They were both pleasantly buzzed and warm. Clarke was telling him a story from her childhood, gesturing with her hands vigorously, when with the corner of his eye, Bellamy noticed his sister eyeing him a little nervously.

Finally, she nodded her head faintly, more to herself than anyone else, grabbed the arm of the man standing next to her and the both of them made their way to him. Bellamy got to his feet, trying to look at least a little bit intimidating but that was pretty pointless. The man was about a head taller than Bellamy and with his head shaved bald and tattoos sticking out from under the collar of his shirt, he towered above nearly everyone in the room.

Clarke stood up as well, probably realising what was going on.

“You’re happy right now, yeah?” Octavia asked, looking between the two of them.

“It’s probably as good as it’s gonna get,” he answered, a hint of warning in his voice and crossed his arms on his chest. Clarke buried her face in his shoulder then, chuckling lightly and Bellamy rolled his eyes. He nearly jumped when she pinched him ever so slightly in his side, whispering “be nice”. So much for intimidating, then.

“I’ll take it,” Octavia agreed. “Lincoln, this is my brother Bellamy.” She gestured between the two men. “Bell, this is Lincoln, my boyfriend. He’s the one who made all those wonderful decorations for us.” Octavia’s eyebrows were now very close to her hairline and she recognise her all-but-patented _don’t be a stubborn ass_ look.

Bellamy swallowed and took Lincoln’s outstretched hand, shaking it tightly a couple of times. There was a stretch of silence as the two men sized each other up, broken by Clarke sighing gently by his side.

“Hi, I’m Clarke,” she introduced herself with a small wave. “Those decorations are absolutely amazing. Is that something you do for a living?” she asked and as Lincoln went on explaining that he’s actually a photographer but enjoys putting things together things like that, Bellamy looked over at Octavia who was smiling at him hopefully. He sent her back a mean grimace but finally nodded with a resigned smile and she grinned happily.

 

***

 

For the next year’s Halloween party, now at Octavia and Lincoln’s new place that they moved into only a month earlier, Bellamy and Clarke decided to do a couple’s costume and go as… Bellamy and Clarke.

She wore a pair of dark grey slacks, a crisp dark blue shirt and the most ridiculous tie in the world, polka dots all over and a cartoon Einstein at the front; it was a gift that Miller had given to him before his first day as a teacher and it’s been buried deep in his sock drawer ever since. He also found an old pair of glasses and pried out the lenses before Clarke could wear them

Bellamy wore one of Clarke’s loose sleeveless summer dress—the only thing she owned that fit his wide shoulders—and an old pair of flip flops. He also put on a blond wig that they stole from the drama club (“borrowed!” as Clarke kept correcting him) and lots and lots of fancy make up that took Clarke more time to apply that she would’ve needed to prepare herself for one of her mother’s parties.

They both looked funny but one look at his brother, swinging his hips to make the dress flow around his legs and Octavia nearly fell over laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, feedback would be welcomed like manna.
> 
> come and visit me on tumblr ([carrieeve](http://carrieeve.tumblr.com))


End file.
